Immigration Act gives UK Border Agency customs powers

Immigration Act gives UK Border Agency customs powers | Home Office

22 July 2009

UK border controls were strengthened today as thousands of customs and immigration officers, sharing wide ranging powers, created a new unified force at the border following Royal Assent of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.

Frontline customs and immigration officers now work together as the UK Border Agency, with the power to quiz passengers on immigration and customs matters. This means many passengers will face just one primary check point when coming in to the UK, speeding up their journey.

Since the creation of the UK Border Agency (new window) in April 2008, bringing together immigration, customs and visa checks, more than 3,500 officers have already been trained with the skills to carry out passport and customs checks.

From 5 August 2009, 4,500 HM Revenue and Customs (new window) staff will formally become part of the UK Border Agency. This is a further step in the transformation of the Agency and strengthens its ability to crack down on those attempting to smuggle drugs and weapons into the UK and ensures Britain continues to have one of the strongest borders in the world.
The UK Border Agency, since April 2008, has already:

* stopped over 30,000 individual attempts by illegal migrants to get into Britain through France and Belgium
* stopped over 12,900 dangerous weapons, including firearms, stun guns and knives, reaching the street
* seized over £379m worth of illegal drugs
* seized in excess of 923 million cigarettes - representing a potential loss of £174m in tax revenue.

Statement from the Border and Immigration Minister

Phil Woolas said, 'This is part of the biggest transformation of our border controls in a generation. A unified force at the border with the powers to carry out customs and immigration checks allows us to continue the crack down on illegal immigration and the smuggling of drugs and weapons.

'I am determined that Britain’s border remains one of the strongest in the world. This Act is an important part of ensuring it stays that way.'

The Act also ensures that migrants who want to become British citizens earn the right to stay by speaking English, paying taxes and obeying the law.

It will speed up the path to citizenship for those who contribute to the community by being active citizens. Under the new system full access to benefits and social housing will be reserved for citizens and permanent residents — a route that can take up to ten years.
Mr Woolas added:

'This new Act ensures that those who want to stay earn the right to do so, learn to speak English and play by the rules. Those that don't will not be allowed to become citizens, making our system both firmer and fairer.

'I want to go further and within the next few weeks we will publish a consultation to examine how the current points based system for economic migrants, which has proved to be an effective and powerful tool for controlling migration, could be applied to citizenship.'

In the next few weeks the Home Office will publish proposals to extend the points based system to citizenship. This will build on the reforms to citizenship in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act, providing even greater controls over the number of people who want to settle permanently in the UK. It will allow for a more flexible approach with the ability to raise and lower the threshold depending on the needs of the UK.
Notes to editors

The UK Border Agency (new window) was established in April 2008 with a budget of over £2bn and 25,000 staff that work in local communities, at the border and in 135 countries around the world.

The Act also enshrines in law a duty on the UK Border Agency to ensure that it safeguards and promotes the welfare of children in all of its work. The UK government has also signed and ratified the UN convention on the rights of the child.

The provisions in relation to the common travel area - to prevent abuse of the UK and the Republic of Ireland border by third-country nationals – did not form part of the final Act. They will be brought back to parliament at the first possible opportunity.